Gar
sat on a stone bench in the large garden near the grand entrance of
the palace. While he watched the peaceful fish in the pond as they
swam under the gently falling cherry blossoms on the surface, he was
a nervous wreck.
“What
do I say?” He whispered.
Lady
Phoenix had convinced him last night to have a walk with Chase this
morning in the garden. This was all she suggested. She didn’t give
him any other ideas. Should he tell Chase he had growing feelings for
her? Could he bring himself to face the possibility of rejection? Why
was he so scared? He looked at his hand and it was trembling. He
rubbed his hands together in an attempt to wipe away the trembling.
“Morning
Gar!” Chase called out.
Gar
just about jumped into the little koi fish pond. He got his nerves
under control and looked back at Chase. She walked down the few
wooden steps. She was dressed in a red and white kimono that draped
on her thin frame. Her hair fell down to her shoulders. His trembling
faded as he got lost just looking at her.
She
approached him, a curious look growing on her face. “Is something
the matter?”
He
shook this off and said, “oh, uh, no. I just have not seen you in
anything but your black outfit. This is nice.”
She
held up the large, loose arms of the outfit. “One of the servant
doll things brought this to me. A gift from Lady Phoenix. She thought
I might be more comfortable in this. She’s right. It is very nice.
So soft and airy.”
Gar
said, “you look nice.”
“Thanks.”
She sat next to him. “So, what did you need to talk about?”
“What?”
“You
said you wanted to meet this morning to talk.”
Gar
nodded, “I, uh, just wanted to, um, talk. Nothing special.”
“Good.
We’ve been so busy lately. It might be nice to catch up as
friends.” She frowned and gave him a funny look. “Something
wrong?”
Gar
wanted, at this moment, to tell her everything going on inside him
right now. But he couldn’t do it. “Director Nova said you learned
an important story about Jinn. Can you tell me about it?”
Chase
smiled, “Oh, yes. This is one heck of a story. You see, back when
these people first came here...” she went on and on about the story
of Jinn and how he worked with the Ottomans. They left the stone
bench and strolled around the garden.
Nearby,
two figures stood in a doorway, watching this silently.
Lady
Phoenix said to her husband, “Aren’t they a lovely couple.”
“They
have a genuine friendship.” Lord Dragon stoically stated. “However,
I do not see the purpose of this.”
“If
we lose sight of what is gentle and kind in this world, then why
fight to save it? Without love, what purpose does life have?”
Lord
Dragon actually smiled and put a caring hand around his wife’s
back. Together they watched the two in the garden. “The greatest
gift of life is love.”
Gar
sat with Chase for two hours listening to her talk about the
fantastic story of what happened to Jinn in the past.
“From
what EB told me, they never expected Jinn to return to his plans
since he didn’t have magic.”
“Makes
sense.” Gar distantly answered.
“Did
you listen? You look like you are ten thousand miles away.”
“I
heard the story. It was interesting. I am just...uh...I…”
“Are
you okay?”
Gar
looked at her. For the first time, he understood what it meant for
eyes to sparkle. He opened his mouth, then closed it, spent a long
moment mulling things over. “Chase...I...I...”
“Is
something wrong?”
Just
then Lady Phoenix came over to them. “We need you inside, now.”
“Oh,
okay.” Chase got up. “Gar, what was it you want to say?”
“Nothing.
We need to get inside.” He followed Lady Phoenix inside, with Chase
behind them.
They
found Lord Dragon on his throne with Gamma Ray and a disheveled
Krystal Fae speaking with him.
“Krystal!”
Chase called out.
“Chase,
Gar, I didn’t know you were here.”
Lord
Dragon said, “we have distressing news.”
Chase
asked, “what?”
Lord
Dragon nodded to Krystal, who said, “Jinn said something about
finding a pearl. With it, his plans would all come together. I wasn’t
sure what he was talking about.”
Gar
said, “what is he talking about?”
Lord
Dragon said, “my talisman is a large pearl, the Dragon Pearl. It is
hidden away from here, has been since my first notion that Jinn might
seek it. No one other than my wife and I know of its location. How he
discovered it is highly curious.”
Gamma
said, “we must go to it, move it before he finds it. We can give it
to the Easter Bunny, I’m sure he’ll hide it where Jinn cannot
find it.”
Lady
Phoenix smiled. “A wise course of action.”
Krystal
said, “I will help. I’ve been fighting him, I’ll come along and
make sure I distract him while you remove this. Even if he kills me,
he won’t get his hands on that pearl.”
“An
admirable attitude, young lady,” Lord Dragon stated. “I can
handle Jinn alone.”
Krystal
seemed highly upset at this. “Sir, I don’t think...”
“Wait,
we aren’t considering something,” Chase said.
“What?”
Lord Dragon asked.
“What
if this is a ruse? What if he planned on leading you to the Pearl?”
Krystal
quickly answered, “it didn’t sound that way to me.”
Gamma
said, “I’m inclined to agree with Chase. If you go running toward
where you hid this pearl, then you will lead him to it... if that was
his plan all along.”
Lord
Dragon said, “we cannot assume this, we must still protect it in
case he knows.”
Lady
Phoenix said, “I will go to the Pearl and move it. Husband, you
will go another direction entirely. If he follows you, then it will
be pointless for him. If he follows me, then the outcome will be the
same if you were to go.”
Lord
Dragon spent a moment considering this and finally gave a quick nod.
“This plan is acceptable. Krystal Fae, go with Lady Phoenix and
ensure her protection. Gamma Ray, come with me, your ninja skills
will prove useful in deception if he follows us.”
Even
under his mask, they could see Gamma smiling at that compliment. “My
pleasure, sir.”
Krystal
brushed back her hair. “I couldn’t agree more.”
Lady
Phoenix walked out toward the interior garden and in a blast of fire,
she turned into a bird and flew away. Krystal Fae followed closely.
“What
about us?” Chase asked.
Lord
Dragon said, “contact BADGE and inform Nova of the situation.”
Lord
Dragon left with Gamma out the front and headed in the opposite
direction. Gamma doesn’t fly, but his skills give him uncanny
movement in ways that few can figure out. He wouldn’t have any
trouble keeping up with Lord Dragon.